The two-dimensional game has been left in the gutters since the N64 and Playstation ushered in the three-dimensional era. Each offers different things, but is one better than the other? And if so, which?

Which is better; 2D and 3D?

jayseven: 2D or 3D?

Well... it all relies on the type of game in question, really.

Of course, just about every game in the known universe has spawned from a 2D game of sorts, which should say that in 2D all genres should work...

I did just type out a huge post here (no honest, I really did) but lost track of what I was going to say, it was something along the lines of "some genres are best at one of the dimensions and not so good at the other, which is why we really should try to keep both types of game with us, so we can fully enjoy a wide variety of excellent games." ... or something.

The handheld market has been the 2D department for a good few years, but thanks to Nokia and Sony wanting to drag this gaming world into the 21st century, the 2D market is in danger of extinction, which is a crying shame, seeing as this is the home of the retro market too, The home of the gaming worlds history, and as some great man once said "It's important we know our history so that we can avoid any catastrophies again" which unfortunately doesn't bear 100% importance in this topic, but it sounds slightly intelligent so I'll keep it in.

We love 3D...

Matt: Both have their strengths and weakness, but I think ultimately that 3D is the way forwards. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of 2D beat em ups and a few 2D platformers but my love for 2D pretty much ends there. The atmosphere and beauty that is now used in games to create a fully immersive 3D gaming experience just blows 2D right out of the water for me.

Blackbird: 2D, or simple 3D.

Sure 3D looks often nice, and of course you get more freedom in a 3D game than in a 2D one, but often 3D involves way more buttons and that's exactly where things go wrong for me.

I like simple games which are easy to pick up. On consoles you often need 10+ buttons for various actions. That's just plain sick imho. I think this is also the reason I like a handheld more. Until now, we haven't seen that many buttons on handhelds (I think 6 was the max) and I can actually play with those. Apart from this reason I also hate the fact that in a lot of 3D games, the camera-viewpoints are totally unexplainable by me.

2D is the way for me, and I'm sure there will be plenty of developers willing to port golden-oldies or develop new clones.

James: It depends entirely on the genre of game. I love 2D games, platfomers especially. I feel that, though the 3D Mario games are good, excellent even, they can't quite compare to the classics.

Mario Kart as well - MK64 rocks, but the original was by far the best. Platformers and racers are well suited to 2D, and I like them a lot. A lot of my favourite gaming moments involve the good old 2D games.

That said, 3D games are of course brilliant, particulary action and shooters. Action games are all well and good in 2D, but 3D allows more exploration, more commands, and is generally better for action games.

Also, have you ever played a 2D FPS? There aren't many, granted, but most are flipping awful. Give me a 3D shooter any day.

Like I said, it depends on the genre. Most games have benifited from 3D, but you can never beat those classic 2D games. Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros. 3, Zelda, Super Metroid, Mario Kart, Space Invaders...

3D is good, but let us never forget those classic titles.

jayseven: Surely a 2D FPS is a contradictary term? The game would have to be sprite-based maybe, but surely it would require polygons to actually be a decent FPS, a l� Castle Wolfenstein.

...but 2D's still great

Tim: You know what it is...2D never gets old. Nowadays we still play the old 2D games like Mario, Ikaruga, etc because you don't necessarily feel the difference as strong as with 3D. Take some of the older N64 games for example. Most now hurt my eyes when playing because they look so bad (Loderunner 3D...awful!!). There are of course the exceptions like Mario, Conker, Wave Race, and Goldeneye. So what do I prefer? I prefer 2D and the evolved 3D games. Hope that makes sense. Ha ha!

Conor: I don't think it is valid or accurate to say one is better than the other. Both 2D and 3D are just means to an end; the method cannot be judged, only the outcome.

Each is suited to different kinds of games, and they have their own benefits and downfalls. 2D allows for a tighter focus, and narrower direction than it's modern counterpart. I would say more, but I'll leave that for an upcoming feature on the subject. Oh, the suspense.